Breaking All the Rules
by Kisa Kisa Yum Yum
Summary: Short drabbles or one-shots inspired by quotes or song lyrics. Suggestions welcome. sasusaku or naruhina, preferred. o6. sasusaku "So I'll make sure to keep my distance, say 'I love you' when you're not listening." -from distance by christina perri
1. Breaking All the Rules

**Summary: Short drabbles or one-shots inspired by quotes or song lyrics. Suggestions welcome. sasusaku or naruhina, preferred. Rating will change depending on prompt and what I feel like writing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the things mentioned in any of these writings.**

**Inspiration: "Every good girl's got a real good reason to believe in breaking all the rules sometimes" from Playing With My Heart by Kate Voegele**

**Written: May 14th, 2011**

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><p>In one minute, his situation drastically changed.<p>

He was calmly being held captive by several ANBU; tied to a chair with chakra-draining ropes in the center of a dimly-lit prison cell, there wasn't much he could do.

Then there was a strangeled cry from outside the room, just seconds before the door was flung opena nd several kanji-scrawled tags flew into the room. They exploded with a small boom, omitting a noxious gas that filled the large space in an instant.

Before he could do more than hold his breath, there came a feather-light touch at his wrists and immediately his bonds loosened. That same light touch disposed of the ropes at his ankles, and a hand grasped him under the arm, hauling him to his feet in a tremendous show of strength, supporting his weight as his legs tried to remember how to work.

Within seconds, they were out the door, and finally he got a good look at his savior. "Sakura?" he asked incredulously, slack-jawed and speechless.

She grinned, a brilliant flash of white in the gloom of Konoha's prison, and she held up her other hand, which held a stuffed money pouch. "This should be enough o get you out of Fire Country and back to wherever it is you're hiding out at the moment. I also packed you some weapons and provisions."

"But-why are you helping me?" he asked. "I'm a traitor-I've tried to kill you half a dozen times!"

"I know. But once you finish this rebellion phase, you'll be back-and by then, Naruto will be Hokage, and you won't be sentenced to death. You can thank me then-I quite enjoy bouquets of flowers."

Still dumbfounded, he took the bag she handed him and listened to her instructions on how to exit the facility without getting caught. Finally, he said, "Thank you. But… I never thought a good girl like you would do something like this."

Her answering smile was so beatific that he almost didn't hear her say, "Every good girl's got a real good reason to believe in breaking all the rules sometimes."

Then she was gone, and he was left standing there-half of his brain focusing on getting out, and the other wondering just what sort of flowers he should bring her next time he returned.

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><p><strong>Like I said, short and sweet and to the point. Wrote this at about five in the morning, so don't be expectin' anything incredibly articulate. I like these little drabblesone-shots, whatever you want to call them. Quotes or lyric suggestions would be welcome, just leave them in a review and I'll consider them. Have a happy reading experience.**


	2. Why I Love You

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the things mentioned in any of these writings.**

**Inspiration: "You're so beautiful, but that's not why I love you. I'm not sure you know that the reason I love you, is you. Being you, just you, yeah, the reason I love you is all that we've been through. And that's why I love you." from I Love You by Avril Lavigne**

**Written: May 20th, 2011**

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><p>"I love you."<p>

Sasuke barely looked up at his girlfriend as she joined him on the bed, but he did flip the page in his book. "I know, Sakura," he replied, "you tell me every day."

"Of course. I'm waiting for you to say it back." She snuggled up to his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "But some people are just stubborn, I guess. Can't show their emotions, or express them into words."

He sighed at her obvious jab and returned the kiss with one of his own. "I know that I'm not your ideal Sasuke, but I'm trying. You just have to give me time."

Sakura smiled and nuzzled his chest with her nose in an affectionate manner. "Alright, alright, I get it, back off, no problem." Yawning unabashedly, she kissed him once more, then turned to bury herself beneath the covers until only her head remained visible. "Goodnight, Sasuke-kun," she said sleepily.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

"I love you."

"….goodnight, Sakura."

She cursed at her foiled plan, but within minutes, her breathing was deep and even. Sasuke waited another minute, then marked his page and closed the book, setting it on the nightstand beside his bed. He watched her sleep for a moment, then quietly said, "You're so beautiful. But that's not why I love you. I'm not sure you know that the reason I love you is just… you." He reached out and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. "I can't say it when you're conscious yet," he whispered, "but I will. Soon. Just wait for me."

As he switched off the light and settled in beside her, Sakura smirked to herself and mentally told him, "I'll wait. I'd wait forever. After all that we've been through, how could I not love you?"

Of course, he better not wait _too _long, or she won't be able to tell him she's pregnant and ready for marriage.

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><p><strong>Wrote this, again, in the middle of the night, so don't expect Shakespeare. Oh, and thank you to the reviews and suggestions, I've got really good ideas for them both and they should be up as soon as I stop being lazy and put my mind down on paper. Again, review if you liked it, if you didn't, then…. Well, whatever. Loveyouall.<strong>


	3. Lullaby Singer

**This is naruhina.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, been in possession of Naruto. I am making no profit off of these writings, though I could sorely use it.**

**Inspiration: "When you were here, I couldn't find the words to say I'll be your lullaby singer. I won't let you down, I promise to try and try and lullaby, lullaby. Lullaby, lullaby." from The Lullaby Singer by Anna Nalick off of her upcoming album Broken Doll and Odds and Ends.**

**Written: June 2nd, 2011**

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><p>Her hand reached out, cautiously, but she drew it back almost instantly. Staring down at the boy kneeling on the ground, her eyes welled up with tears at the slump of his shoulders and the way he hung his head. He was in obvious pain, and she didn't even have the guts to comfort him.<p>

She had just firmed her resolve and was about to reach out again when Sakura beat her to it, throwing her arms around him and saying, "It wasn't your fault, Naruto! We fight in this war to protect you! We all love you!"

He was all but swallowed up in a group of his friends, and Hinata stepped back reflexively, a lump blocking her throat. She shouldn't be angry or jealous of Sakura, but she really couldn't help it. She had said the wrong thing, and they all knew it, but Naruto just gave her a weak shadow of his usual grin and pretended that he felt better. But his eyes were still pained, and Hinata bit her lip to keep from pointing it out.

He looked up at her then and smiled, as if _he _knew that _she _knew, but in the next instant, he was saying, "Hey, you did pretty good, Hinata! I always knew you could do it! By the way, where's Neji?"

Typical Naruto. She shook her head and sighed, choosing to turn and look for her cousin instead. He was several feet away, standing with Tenten, but at her gaze, he immediately turned towards her and offered her a firm nod. "H-he's over there, Nar-" she began, but she was cut off as Naruto yelled, "Hey Neji! You did pretty good! But I was better."

Neji scoffed at this and walked over to defend his honor, and as they began bickering, Hinata wandered away a bit and began to weave her way around the celebrating shinobi. Everyone was so happy and sad at the same time, manic-depressive, that it was making her head throb, or perhaps that was from her prolonged Byakugan exposure. She activated her bloodline limit and winced as another wave of pain hit her right behind the eyes.

After walking for a bit, she found herself away from the others and almost completely isolated. Sitting down on a fairly large rock, she closed her eyes and thought back on the recent events of the past few days. War. War and more war. And then, somehow, victory. She still didn't completely understand what had happened. She wasn't happy like the others were; they had managed to save the shinobi world from Madara and his evil plan, they had even managed to get Sasuke back to life so to speak, and Naruto was still alive, so that should have been it. But they had lost so many people, a good deal of many of their best shinobi and medics. Even a few of her friends had perished. It was not just a time for celebration; it was also a time for mourning.

Hinata sat there and said a long prayer for them then, ignoring any outside noise and focusing solely on her mourning. Afterwards, she opened her eyes and was somewhat startled to see that the sun was almost ready to set. Instead of rising, however, her thoughts turned to Naruto and her confession. He still hadn't mentioned it, and she was confused and hurt by it. They _had _been rather busy, and none so more than he, but it still hurt to have her love basically ignored.

She loved Naruto, and no matter what, she would stick by him, and become stronger for him. Her back met the surface of the rock and she stared up at the sky, unconsciously singing to herself. "When you were here, I couldn't find the words to say I'll be your lullaby singer. I won't let you down, I promise to try and try and lullaby, lullaby. Lullaby, lullaby." As she sang, her lids drifted down, and within minutes, she was asleep.

Many hours later, Naruto was enjoying the festivities-which meant he was trying to get everyone to stop glaring at Sasuke, who sat there nursing his sake ashamedly in proper traitor-turned-good fashion-when a thought occurred to him and he glanced around him. "Hey, Sakura-chan," he whispered, nudging the girl next to him, disrupting her half-glare, half-goofy smile in Sasuke's direction. "Have you seen Hinata?"

She blinked at him. "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her since earlier. Should we ask Neji?"

Glancing over at the stoic ninja, Naruto shuddered at the suggestion. "Are you kidding? If she's missing or something, he'll freak out and _somehow_ find a way to blame her disappearance on me! I'll just go look for her myself."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" she asked doubtfully as he stood, a bit unsure of where to start looking.

"Just stay here and make sure Sasuke-teme doesn't crawl away," he told her with a grin, laughing when she immediately swung around to glare at the Uchiha, as if he were trying to do exactly that. "If I'm not back in twenty minutes, send out a search party."

"Okay!"

Naruto wandered around, searching for the girl in question, and after ten minutes he was about to quit when he noticed an large oddly-shaped rock in the darkness. "Hinata?" he called out softly, moving towards it. The lump stirred, then fell back into its odd shape. As he got closer and his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was able to make out the pattern of a shinobi vest and dark hair, and he sniffed cautiously. Lavender and vanilla. It was definitely Hinata. Smiling, he crept closer and bent down to look at her face. She looked quite peaceful as she slept, her face relaxed and pale, not flushed as it normally was around him. At least he knew _why_ she blushed around him now.

He frowned at the direction his thoughts was going and realized that he still hadn't thought much about Hinata's confession. He had shrugged it off as a heat of the moment thing then and concentrated on Pain and the Akatsuki, but now that they were again at peace, he really actually _thought_ about it. Unconsciously, he settled onto the ground next to her and leaned his head back against her, wincing a bit as his head was pillowed on something soft. Then he began thinking again, and completely forgot about his comfy pillow until she shifted again and murmured something. His breath stopped as his ears pricked up, and he waited for her to speak again.

"Mmm… Lullaby…"

Lullaby? He shook it off and went back to thinking, smiling momentarily at the information that she spoke in her sleep. Settling more comfortably against her and the rock, he worried about trivial things, like what he had to offer her as a love prospect, if this would potentially ruin his chances of becoming Hokage, of whether she could make homemade ramen, of whether she liked frogs….

Twenty-five minutes after he left, Sakura went looking for him and found Hinata laying on the rock with Naruto curled up beside her, clutching onto her leg and snoring rather loudly. She giggled quietly and rolled her eyes at the fact that Hinata was still fast asleep with all that noise. 'I'll just let them sleep a bit,' she thought to herself as she turned and began to walk away. 'Besides, this will give me a chance to find out just how Sasuke-kun has _matured_….'

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><p><strong>Sorry, I had to add some sasusaku there haha Um, this sort of mutated a bit, but I'm content with it. I haven't posted anything naruhina in a while, and this song is FABULOUS-I've had it on repeat and have listened to it sixteen times so far. I'm anxiously awaiting this album's release, and the only way you can listen to this song is on YouTube. Review, please!<strong>


	4. No Need For Words

**Summary: "Uh, what just happened?" "I dunno, but I think they just got engaged." sasusaku rated T for language and sexual innuendos**

**Disclaimer: If Naruto was made of ramen and I was a duck… Wait. No. I just don't own Naruto, so shut the hell up. Nah, just kidding. I just don't own him.**

**Inspiration: "I could tell you that I want to be a wife, I'd take a vow, take a bullet, take a life. It's beautiful, but compared to how I love you, it's stale and stupid and it's all been said enough" from Words by Anna Nalick from her upcoming album Broken Dolls and Odds and Ends**

**Written: June 25th, 2011**

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><p>"Oi Sasuke-teme, grab a stool and order some ramen, I'm starving!"<p>

Sakura flushed as her longtime boyfriend smacked their mutual friend upside the head and took the seat next to her. "Hey, stranger," she said softly, smiling at him in a loving way. "Where've you been?"

"Oh, you know, running errands, making plans." He ordered a miso ramen bowl and still managed to catch the annoyed glance she threw his way. However, he chose to ignore it and instead leaned over her to scowl at Naruto. "How many bowls have you eaten so far? I can only see five. Surely you're just getting warmed up?"

"No!" Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Ayame-san said that they were taking up too much counter space and she took them into the back."

"Actually, what she said was that there were no clean bowls left, and if he wanted _more _ramen, she would have to wash them first," Sakura corrected, not taking her eyes off Sasuke. "What's that in your pocket?" she asked suspiciously, pointing at the obvious lump in his dark Jonin pants.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "I'm just _that _happy to see you?" he offered up in a low, sexy voice.

She wasn't going to give in to that… _Again._ "Bullshit. That lump is much much _much _too large to be _that._" She smiled sweetly as Naruto, who hadn't heard what she said but knew by her tone that she was teasing Sasuke, laughed uproariously.

Her boyfriend blushed just the slightest bit, but to her surprise, he didn't immediately refute her jab at his male pride. Instead, quite suddenly, he reached into the pocket in question and turned towards her simultaneously. Her smile disappeared as she saw exactly what the object _was_ and her breath caught on a gasp.

At that point, they were joined by Ino and her exhausted team just getting back from a mission, and as they exchanged greetings with Naruto and took the only empty seats available, Ino eyed her friend, taking note of the shocked expression on her face. In a move quite out of character for her, she kept silent and just watched as Sakura smiled, nodded, and reached up to kiss her boyfriend full on the lips. After a good thirty seconds, they pulled back and turned back to their food with identical goofy smiles on their faces.

"Hey Forehead!" Ino finally spoke up, causing the two grinning fools to turn her way. "Mind if I take a look?" she asked with a grin, holding up her hand and waggling her fingers. Sakura blushed and shook her head vehemently. "I have no idea-" she began, then abruptly shut her mouth.

Blue eyes twinkling with amusement, Ino stood and, suddenly filled with a boisterous energy, grabbed her friend's _unoccupied _hand and pulled her out into the street. "Be back soon, guys!" she called behind her, ignoring the pink-haired girl's quiet protests. It was quite unnecessary, however, for not five seconds later they heard Ino scream, "Oh my gosh, it's _beautiful_, that guy is _loaded,_ can I try it on-" and then they all winced at the sound of Sakura's fist striking flesh before she yelled, "No you cannot, you pig! Let go of my precious!"

Sasuke sighed and went to go break up the fight. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji, who were smart enough to cower on their stools, listened to the shouts and sounds of fighting until Chouji turned to Naruto and said, "Uh, what just happened?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, but I _think _they just got engaged."

"Oh." Chouji nodded, then pointed to Sasuke's unfinished bowl. "You gonna eat that?"

"Yes! Get your grubby hands off of it!"

"I haven't touched it yet!"

As the two struggled over the bowl of lukewarm ramen, Shikamaru lazily lit up a cigarette and took a leisurely drag from it, using Naruto's completely full bowl as an ashtray. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one with a brain," he commented aloud to himself.

_I could tell you that I want to be a wife_

_I'd take a vow, take a bullet, take a life_

_It's beautiful but compared to how I love you_

_It's stale and stupid and it's all been said enough_

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><p><strong>Haha, I love Anna Nalick, what can I say? I cannot WAIT for this album! And I realize I haven't updated in a while, I'm on a limited computer schedule, so the only time I ever WILL update is on the weekends, and I'm sad to say that I'm not consistent. But anyway, please enjoy. I realize that the words were never actually <em>said <em>in the story like my other three previous drabbles, but it seemed sort of long, ya know? Peace out, Cub Scout.**


	5. Live With It

**Summary: o5. "Love is not finding someone you can live with, it's finding someone you can't live without." **

**Disclaimer: I have no recollection of owning Naruto, and if I did, then the CIA would have to lock me back up and continue with the memory-suppressing treatment. Er, I mean, I don't own Naruto heheheh…! **

**Inspiration: **_Love is not finding someone you can live with, it's finding someone you can't live without. _**-Rafael Ortiz**

**Written: June 17****th****, 2011-August 8****th****, 2011**

**Btw, I wrote this within the span of two or three months, so it's a bit uneven.**

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><p>It was crazy. Here he was, Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha clan, ANBU captain, one of the most respected shinobi in all of Fire Country-and he was sneaking into his own apartment.<p>

He tried the front door, then cursed when the knob didn't turn. Not that he could blame her for locking him out; he'd made an ass out of himself before he left for his week-long mission and he was actually more surprised that she hadn't moved (thrown) all of his stuff out.

There were several windows he could force open and crawl through, but if she'd locked the door, it was logical to assume that she'd locked them as well. Sure enough, every window was locked-except for their bedroom window. Frowning in confusion, he slid it open, wincing when it squeaked slightly, then quietly climbed in.

As soon as he was through, he swore mentally and immediately slipped his shoes off; she was always complaining that he tracked dirt on the floors and had ordered him to take his shoes off by the front door every time he entered the apartment. However, he hadn't, _wasn't able to_, so he just left them next to the wall beneath the window.

In the dim light provided by the waning moon, he could just barely make out shapes in the dark, but as his eyes adjusted, the outline of Sakura sleeping beneath the covers on their bed was just visible. She didn't appear to have heard him enter, but he knew her well enough to know that she was a light sleeper. Every time he so much as got up to pee in the middle of the night, she was wide awake.

Sasuke undressed as fast and quietly as possible, stripping down to bare skin, then slid into bed beside her cautiously. When she didn't stir, he breathed a sigh of relief and got comfortable, closing his eyes.

"Unless you're going to take a shower, get out of my bed."

"Ugh," he groaned, opening one eye and seeing that she hadn't even moved towards him. "I'm too tired to shower. You go shower."

"You're the one who's dirty. And you smell. Go take a shower, and maybe by the time you get back, you'll be ready to apologize."

He sighed, but got up anyway and did as she said. Twenty minutes later, he collapsed onto the bed beside her once again, almost too tired to dry his own hair. As soon as he closed his eyes, he felt the bed shift and Sakura placed her palm over his forehead and felt his temperature. "You're a bit hot," she told him softly.

"Just a bit?"

He could almost _hear _her roll her eyes at his joking. "Do you need me to heal you? Wait, let me rephrase that: Do you have any injuries?"

"No. You locked the door."

She sat up with her back against the wall, pulling the sheet with her. "You know why I did. And I haven't heard an apology from you yet."

Sasuke groaned loudly and sat up as well. "Can't we do this in the morning? I'm too exhausted to apologize tonight."

"Yeah, Sasuke, we'll just wait until tomorrow to repair our broken relationship, brilliant idea. Hey, are you too tired to have sex too, because I just know that having wild, passionate sex will totally make up for you being a total dick!"

"….hn."

She growled angrily and threw up her hands dramatically, then made to get out of bed. "Whatever, I'm sleeping on the couch!"

"Wait, Sakura, don't!" Sasuke grabbed for her arm and missed, but she stopped anyway, kneeling on the edge of the bed with the sheet half falling off of her. He carefully averted his eyes and stammered, "S-sorry."

"Oh for the love of-Sasuke, I'm wearing a nightgown!" she snapped. "Just because I'm preg-"

He made a face at the word and she growled warningly. "Pregnant, Sasuke, pregnant! Get used to the damn word! You've got about seven and a half months left of it!"

"Calm down, you're going to upset the, uh.." he trailed off, gesturing towards her still mostly flat abdomen. Her eyes widened and she growled, "Uchiha Sasuke, you are behaving like a child. It is a baby. _Our _baby. If you can't even say the right damn words, then you might as well just not show up for the whole damn pregnancy!" She was quickly working herself up into a frenzy, her face growing red with anger and her eyes swimming a bit with tears. "If this is how you're going to act, then I'll just move in with Ino or Naruto and Hinata-"

"Don't!" Sasuke told her, his voice almost cracking with emotion as he pulled her to him. She attempted to resist, then sank onto him with a soft sigh of acquiesce, but he could feel the tension in her body as he held her close, wrapping his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the familiar sweet scent. "I'm sorry. I'm being stupid."

"I just don't understand," she said softly, nuzzling the bare skin of his neck with her nose and giving a shaky smile when he jumped at the cold feeling. "You're the one who always talked about having a lot of children. As I recall, the count is still somewhere around eleven, right?"

"At least fifteen, but that's beside the point. I do want to have children with you, Sakura, I just…" He hesitated, and as he did so, he began rubbing circles into her back as he always did when they lay like this, drinking in the comfort of the other's company and savoring body heat. Reaching up to his hair, she began running her fingers through it, scraping her nails slightly against his scalp the way he liked, and giggled quietly when he groaned and unconsciously leaned into her touch. Her heart always did a little flip-flop when he did that, welcoming something that before he would have shunned. They had both come a long way since that horrible time when Sasuke was hell-bent on revenge and destruction, allowing himself to be used by his evil crazed ancestor.

He frowned as he tried to remember what he had been about to say; Sakura was good at distracting him, even when she wasn't trying to do so. "I sort of wanted to wait a little bit. I wanted to propose first. I wanted us to spend a few years as just _us_ before we became _us and baby_. Don't get me wrong, I will love the b-baby, I just…" He mumbled the rest of his sentence into her hair.

"What was that?" Sakura asked, her heart thumping at what she had _thought_ he said.

Pulling away from her just enough to uncover his mouth, he repeated, "I'm not ready to share you yet."

"…._That_ is _ridiculous_!" she exclaimed, sitting up and staring at him as if he had just told her he was having a homosexual relationship with Sai (which did _not_ give her a mental nosebleed). "Sasuke-kun, that is ridiculous. Having a baby is going to change things, yes, but it's all going to be good. We're going to have a little Sasuke, or a little Sakura, or a little Sasuke _AND _a little Sakura running around." She looked around their bedroom for a minute and blinked as a sudden thought occurred to her. "Oh wow. We're gonna need a house. Or at least a bigger apartment."

Sasuke let out a puff of laughter at her wondrous expression, her eyes gazing at the wall but her mind already picking out curtains and furniture. Then she came back to herself with a little frown. "Or… Um, that is, if you want to, um, get m-m-m-"

"Married?" he supplied with a trademark smirk at her flushed cheeks. "This isn't working out the way it was supposed to. My five-year plan is all shifted," he continued, almost like he was talking to himself. "Let's see: Become friends with you within the first year; check. Woo you for the second year; check. Date for the third, fourth, and fifth year; see, that's where we hit the snag. In the fifth year, I was going to start dropping hints, and then on our third anniversary, I was going to propose. Then, if you said yes, the Dobe was going to come running in and shower you with confetti; if you said no, the Dobe was going to come running in and shower you with confetti. And then sob all over you until you changed your mind."

"Sasuke," she said warningly, her tone hard but her expression hopeful. "Are you being serious right now? You actually mapped out the course of our relationship? And-wait, have you been planning this since you came back to Konoha?"

He nodded, proud of his own genius. "Yeah. You remember when you punched me in the face and broke my nose?"

"That was before our first mission together," she replied with a smile, reminiscing. "You just stood there and took it. Well, you did fall on the ground, but other than that, you didn't even blink. And as I recall, Naruto helped you up, you dusted yourself off, and we just pretended it never happened."

Sasuke smirked and snuggled closer to her before saying, "Well, that's not entirely true. I was floored. You had never treated me like that, and after you punched me, you just gave me this… this little smile, as if to say, 'You deserved it, it happened, let's move on'. But it shook me. For you to forgive me so easily… All it took was one punch and we were back to normal Team Seven. That's when I started mapping out my five-year plan. Of course, it wouldn't have worked at all if you didn't feel the same way about me anymore, but luckily, you're pretty obvious."

"Hey!"

"Sakura, you walked in on me changing one day, and then stuck around to watch."

"I was _looking_ for something! It's not my fault you were bare-assed in, er, your own bedroom!"

"Well, did you ever find the elusive, vague _something_?"

She grinned. "Yeah, I found it. And I enjoyed looking for it, too." She paused, with a look on her face that told him that she was thinking very hard about something. Then she said, "So, you do want to get married? Or are we waiting until the sixth child for that?"

"I don't want you to feel like you have to marry me because of the b-baby," Sasuke told her honestly. "I want you to marry me because you love me."

The look of slight panic and fear on his normally stoic face made her heart ache, so she reached up and kissed him soundly, wiping the expression off and replacing it with passion and love. "Of course I love you, you baka. And of course I want to marry you. This baby is going to be a true Uchiha, and so am I. Unless you want to be a Haruno-"

"Eh, no, that's okay, thanks. I'll stick with Uchiha. Haruno Sasuke sounds too feminine. And _wrong_." Despite his words, he was grinning down at her, and he stole another kiss before tucking her in next to him, pulling the sheet up and over them. They lay there, with her head pillowed on his shoulder and their arms around each other, silent until a very drowsy Sakura said, "Sasuke-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Does this mean we're engaged now?"

"As soon as I can pick up an engagement ring and ask you properly. But for now, yeah, I guess we are."

He felt her smile against his skin. "Does this mean we're getting a house?"

"Some form of a house, yes."

"…does this mean I can pick out the curtains?"

"Yes, Sakura. Now go to sleep. You and our baby need the rest."

A mere minute later, her breathing was slow and deep, and she was snoring slightly, and he placed a kiss on her head, and whispered, "Thank you," even though she couldn't hear him.

He'd have plenty of opportunities to tell her later.

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><p><strong>Oh my gosh, she finished something again! For the first time in months! Kudos to my muse, Taylor Swift and Rafael Ortiz, both of whom own their own stuff and blah blah blah I don't get paid for being awesome. Tragic, really. If I did, I would no doubt get stuff out faster. Anyways, enjoy, and if you did, review. In case you don't know, it's my birthday! Yay, I'm twenty… I'm gonna go drown myself in the bathroom sink now. So review, for my birthday, please? It's crappy so far.<strong>


	6. Keeping My Distance

**Summary: sasusaku o6. "So I'll make sure to keep my distance, say 'I love you' when you're not listening." from distance by christina perri**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the things mentioned in any of these writings.**

**Inspiration: **_**"And I'll make sure to keep my distance, say 'I love you' when you're not listening. And how long can we keep this up, up, up? And I keep waiting for you to take me. You keep waiting to save what we had. How long till we call this love, love, love?" **_**from Distance by Christina Perri**

**Written: The early morning hours of February 10****th****, 2012 - The early morning hours of September 16****th****, 2012**

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><p>She was trembling. It was mostly unnoticeable unless you were watching her closely, and most of the group was paying attention to the Hokage's speech about peace in Konoha<p>

Everything in her was screaming silently to _touch_, but she wisely held the urge at bay, curling her hands into fists with the effort. She swallowed to lubricate her suddenly dry throat as her thoughts centered on his hands. Stupid, really, there were certainly better things to focus on, but he was holding a kunai, which kept twirling, the sunlight catching on the metal surface and twinkling as it spun. Her attention was on the fingers making the weapon move, the long, calloused fingers that made her dreams more than slightly risqué and her heartbeat quicken astronomically.

Perhaps her reaction wouldn't be quite so strong if they weren't standing side by side; where was Naruto when you needed a buffer?

Her annoyance was short-lived, for she caught sight of the spiky blonde head through the crowd, snuggled close to a blue one, and they were so cute that she couldn't help but smile. Then she turned her head and locked eyes with Sasuke.

"Those two are sickening," he murmured, not quite willing to risk Tsunade's wrath if they were caught talking by speaking up. "They've only been together a week and they make me gag."

She rolled her eyes even as her stomach bottomed out, then said, "She's loved him for years. The baka finally pulled his head out of his ass and asked her out. They're happy, they're our friends, and I'm happy that they're happy. True, they _are_ a bit sickening-"

"Ha," he snorted and she smiled. "But they deserve it. It's everything she ever wanted," she continued softly, carefully looking away from his gaze.

They didn't say anything more on the subject, and Sakura went back to holding herself in check. When he had first come back home, she had made any excuse to touch him, be it a brush of the fingers as she handed him something or being an overly touchy medic, but after a few weeks she had realized that the contact was making it harder to keep what she felt hidden. With every purposeful caress, _the words _leapt to the tip of her tongue and she risked ruining the rocky friendship they had reestablished.

Finally they were free to leave, and Naruto sought them out, fairly dragging his girlfriend along as he did so. "Hinata-chan and I are getting ramen!" he announced with an air that they should be surprised. "You guys wanna come?"

_And be awkward not-couple as you two kiss? Definitely not-_

"Sakura and I have to do some research," Sasuke declined, drawing her from her thoughts.

Naruto nodded. "Oh, for that eye jutsu? Alright, no problem." His grin turned sly as he added, "Just make sure you two actually _work_."

Sasuke scoffed and replied, "For the last time, Dobe, we are not secretly dating."

"I didn't say you were dating, just that you two are-"

"Unless there's a kinky jutsu to cure Sasuke-kun's eyes through sexual intercourse, we're not going to have sex tonight," Sakura interrupted even as she internally winced. _Great, now you'll be thinking about it all night._

Hinata giggled at the expression on her boyfriend's face, then tugged on his arm. "Leave them alone, Naruto-kun," she told him softly. "Besides, aren't you hungry?"

Right on cue, his stomach rumbled and they all groaned in unison. "Go stuff your face, baka," Sakura teased, lightly punching his arm and laughing as he winced. "Have a great dinner, Hina-chan," she told Hinata as she moved to hug the girl. "Don't let him eat too much, he'll get horribly gassy."

Naruto scowled good-naturedly, then wrapped his arms around her and squeezed hard, lifting her up off the ground. She cried out in alarm, then returned the embrace awkwardly, as her arms were trapped beneath his. He sat her back down and allowed her to kiss his cheek before he gave Sasuke a friendly punch on the arm, ducking the hand aimed for the back of his head, and ran off with Hinata in tow, calling out a grinning farewell as he did so.

"Dobe," Sasuke growled.

Sakura gave him a nervous smile, the urges returning now that they were alone and no longer distracted. "So, your place or mine?" she asked casually. Normally they went to his apartment, simply because he was more comfortable there.

He considered the choice for a moment, then said, "Your apartment is closer."

_I will not think of how wrong that sounded. _"Alright, that works. I actually would like to take a shower before we get started, I feel a bit grungy."

He glanced her up and down and said, "You look fine."

_Every girl's dream. _"I spent the day with sick children. There's still vomit on my skirt."

His lips thinned out as he tried to hold in his amusement at her expression. "It's hardly noticeable."

"You're such a man," she snorted, thankful that it came out as condescending rather than the purr that it was in her head. "Let's go, then."

Silence fell between them as they began the short walk to Sakura's apartment. They were about halfway there when Sasuke swore loudly and stopped in his tracks. "I left my notes at my apartment," he explained at her confused look.

"Okay, not that big a deal, Sasuke-kun," she told him with a grin. "You go get your stuff and I'll jump in the shower. See, nothing to scare the children over."

He glanced to his left where two little kids were standing completely still, gaping at him, and he groaned in frustration. "Damn."

"Not helping."

"Alright, I'm going to leave before I tell them where babies comes from," he muttered darkly, throwing her a glare as she burst out laughing before he walked away in the opposite direction.

"Just give me the signal when you come in!" she called out after him, and he raised a hand in acknowledgement before he turned and disappeared behind a building.

Sakura reached her apartment in record time and swiftly undressed, tossing her clothes haphazardly in the direction of her bedroom and, grabbing a towel from the linen closet, entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She had been in the shower for maybe three minutes before there came three hard knocks on the bathroom door, followed by two softer ones. Smiling, she called out, "There are tea leaves in the cabinet, help yourself!" He knocked again in thanks and then he was gone.

Stepping out of the shower stall, she towel-dried her hair and did the same to her body, then stood before the mirror and critiqued her appearance as she couldn't help but to do every day. What she saw only made her depressed, so she cute the pity party short and, wrapping the towel around herself, safely made it down the hallway before pausing just at her bedroom door. From here, she could see Sasuke seated on hr couch, head bent over a medical text and his hand jotting down notes in his unnecessarily neat scrawl. His head began to lift, sensing her presence, and she quickly ducked into her bedroom and silently shut the door. Cursing her weakness, she dropped the towel and rummaged in her dresser. She chose a pair of red shorts and a large orange shirt that had been Naruto's and clashed horribly with her hair, which she dragged into a high ponytail. It was getting long, too long for comfort.

"Sorry it took so long," she apologized as she reentered the living room after donning a pair of fluffy orange socks, an unfortunate Christmas present from her fashionably-challenged teammate.

"I think I found something," he replied, not wasting time to accept what wasn't really an apology. "This case study on-" He abruptly cut off as she came to sit beside him and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "Sasuke-kun?" she said softly, concerned by his odd behavior.

Eyes still closed, he shook his head. "Never mind. Um, so this case study, have you read up on it?"

Sakura took the book in her hands and got comfortable, curling her legs up underneath her body and searching the page with a slight frown. "I've never seen this before. This isn't from the library, is it?"

"No, I found it in the Uchiha family archives today," he said quietly, bitterness creeping into his voice. The Uchiha complex was generally off-limit; no one entered the grounds but Sasuke, and only rarely did he exercise that right. It was with great regret that Sakura had asked him to gather some of the material from the musty library for their research. He was always so sad after a visit that it broke her heart.

"This is definitely interesting. Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she half-murmured at the haunted look in his eyes.

As he usually did, he lashed out. "I doubt that it will help - you haven't made much progress so far, have you?" he snapped.

But she just smiled and countered, "Considering the fact that we started with next to nothing, I think we've come a long way. Stop being such an ass."

His annoyed expression gave way as he huffed out a laugh at her bold admonishment. "You're too good for me, Sakura."

"That's why we haven't had sex yet," she quipped, grinning as he chuckled at the long-standing joke. "Now focus; my legs aren't going to keep you from going blind in a few years."

"But a great sight to fade out on," he mumbled, receiving a kick for his efforts.

After three or four hours of reading medical texts and scrolls, Sakura yawned and, marking her place, shut the book she was reading and set it down on the coffee table. "I'm starving," she announced, stretching luxuriously as she stood. "I'm going to make something to eat. Are you hungry?"

"Famished," he replied, setting his own book down and yawning quietly. "Fried tomato sandwiches?"

"I was thinking rice."

"Both?"

"Alright." She made her way to the kitchen, aware as always that he was following her, watching as she gathered all of the necessary materials together, not speaking until she was cooking the food. As she was stirring the rice, he finally said, "You really do belong in the kitchen."

She rolled her eyes and said, "That better not be a woman joke."

"No, I'm serious. I'm amazed at how you always seem to _belong_. At the Academy, you were one of the smartest, and you were fairly popular even though you were also terribly annoying."

"Where are you going with this, Uchiha?"

"Shut up. So then, when you were placed on Team Seven, you made the transition with a bit of difficulty, but you somehow managed to pull us all together."

"You must have me confused with Naruto, which is weird, because he doesn't have gorgeous pink hair and amazing breasts."

"Shut up. And somehow, you also managed to make me actually begin to respect you. Beneath the hatred and anger, I actually admired you. You had so much faith in me - more than I deserved. Do you realize that one of the reasons I left Konoha back then was because you were actually starting to believe in Naruto, too? I was crazy jealous."

"S-Sasuke-" she stammered, eyes wide and food forgotten as his admission. "You never-"

"I was an idiot. I didn't know that I was crazy jealous. I managed to convince myself that I hated you just as much as I hated Naruto, for being weak, for being so naïve and trusting so blindly in everything you'd been told, you the way I wished I could be. But I haven't been innocent since Itachi killed the Uchiha clan and made me hate him so much that I couldn't think clearly about anything else. It took me a while to admit it all to myself. You're going to burn the rice."

"Huh?" She blinked and turned to the pan that was emitting quite a bit of smoke, cursing and fairly throwing it into the sink and running the cold water. "Damn, that was the last of the rice, too! I guess it's fried tomato sandwiches all around. "She turned back to Sasuke and frowned. "But finish your little monologue first, I'm not burning anything else tonight."

He smiled at her disgruntled expression and continued, "You know what I was thinking on the way back to Konoha, after the war? _I wonder if Sakura still feels the same way she did back then. _But then I finally did get back, and you _punched me_ in the _head_." Sakura winced at the reminder. "And I figured that was my answer right there. After that, you were trying so hard to keep us on a friendly level that I just accepted that we would never be anything more."

"S-Sasuke-kun-"

"But I've seen the way you look at me when you think you're being covert, and I can hear the sadness in your voice sometimes when you talk to me," he spoke over her, taking a step closer so that she was nearly backed into a corner. "I need to know, Sakura. Do you still feel that way?"

_The words _were on her tongue again, so heavy and thick that she had to swallow, and even then they were still there, lingering, building up into a crescendo until she wanted to scream it, shout it from the rooftops for all of Konoha to hear. But still something made her pause, the same something that a moment later made her shake her head and give him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, but I think you're mistaken," she told him, the words jumbling up in her mouth but somehow making their way around _those three words_.

The expression on his face - disappointment and a flash of pain - made her throat clench and she had to struggle not to sob as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered again as he turned away, his head bowed as he fought to keep his emotions in check. "I'm so, so sorry-"

"You said that," he interrupted, his tone harsh. "I'm going to keep looking in the texts. Call me when the food is ready."

"Sasuke-" she began, but he was already walking out of the kitchen. The tears ran down her cheeks as her face flushed with the force of her grief, and she fell to her knees on the floor. _"I love you,"_ she whispered faintly. She clutched her chest, sure that her heart was going to explode out of her ribcage as it broke again, piece by piece falling somehow into the pit of her stomach.

Her Inner voice, thought to be long gone, reared its enraged head and in a thunderous voice boomed, **"ARE YOU INSANE?! THIS IS SASUKE-KUN, OUR SASUKE-KUN! HAVE WE LOST OUR MIND?! **_**TELL HIM**_**!"**

'_I-I can't do it,' _she thought desperately, trying to keep her grief as silent possible, lest he walk in to check on her and see her in this state. '_He's become my best friend! If it doesn't work out-"_

"**YOU THINK THINGS ARE GOING TO BE THE SAME NOW?! HE JUST POURED HIS HEART OUT TO YOU, BAKA! YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE HIM FOREVER IF YOU DON'T **_**TELL HIM**_**!"**

Almost without realizing she was moving, she regained her feet and futilely swiped at her eyes and cheeks as she struggled to get her breathing under controls. The words were still there, quivering amongst her taste buds, and she exited the kitchen before her nerve faded.

Sasuke was sitting once again on the couch, eyes trained on a text, but she could tell by his expression that it was just something to stare at as he pulled himself together. He didn't look up when she walked in, or even when she walked around to sit down beside him. "That didn't take long," he said thickly, clearing his throat the emotion in his voice. "I sure am hungry."

"I didn't make the sandwiches."

"Then what-" He glanced up and froze as he took in her face, the tears still trickling down her cheeks, and the determined set of her mouth. But he wisely didn't comment on any of this. "Sakura?"

"Just - let me say what I came to say," she got out, then her mouth snapped shut on the words she'd resolved to finally, _finally_ say. "I…"

He stared at her expectantly, his eyes trained on hers, and the directness of his gaze made her shaky courage dissolve as quickly as it'd come. "Um…forget it," she stammered, rising up from the couch and walking back towards the kitchen.

His sigh of disappointment made her slow her stride until she stopped halfway there, hands clenching into fists at her sides.

"**SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT-"**

"_I love you."_

"What was that?"

Sakura gritted her teeth and swiftly spun around to face him, her voice above a whisper now. _"I said I love you. I. Love. You. I, _Haruno Sakura, _love you_, Uchiha Sasuke."

He sprang up from his seat and was halfway across the room before she was repeating it, _"I love you. I love you. I. Love. You."_

"Sakura." He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding onto her as her voice got louder. "Sakura, I heard you."

"_I LOVE YOU, SASUKE. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU, SO MUCH."_

"Shut up," he told her again, hugging her so tightly that her breath hitched. "Just shut up. I heard you, you annoying idiot."

"_I LOVE YOU!" _she shouted, clutching his back as if afraid she would fall if she loosened her hold. "Oh Sasuke, _I LOVE YOU_!"

"Shh, it's okay, I heard you, I heard you," he said soothingly, rubbing nonsensical patterns into her back as she continued to repeat it until the words faded into sobs and she was just crying tears of relief, tears of joy, tears of release.

Eventually her sobs faded into hiccups then silence, and still he rubbed her back, pressing kisses to her sweaty forehead and mumbling comforting words into her hair. After she had completely calmed down, her breaths coming slow and deep, he finally pulled back to look into her tired eyes and smiled gently. "Thank you," he told her softly, pressing a feather light kiss to her lips.

Her voice was hoarse from shouting and crying, but she managed to croak out, "I hate it when you say that. You said it the first time I told you I loved you, and you're saying it now. What is that supposed to mean?"

"Then? It meant thank you," he said, pressing another, more substantial kiss to her lips. "And now? It means I love you, too." And he kissed her for real this time, cradling her face in his hands and pouring everything he felt into the embrace.

_So I'll make sure to keep my distance_

_Say 'I love you' when you're not listening_

_How long till we call this_

_Love, love, love?_

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><p><strong>Oh my goodness! Long time no see, my beautiful babies! Hush now, Mommy's back, it's okay. :D My thumb is feeling a lot better (for those of you who don't I thought it was broken, turns out it was just a contusion, I can move it now, but it still hurts sometimes) and I wanted to get something out to you guys real quick! Then Life said, "Hey, screw you, bitch!" and kicked me in the head. And by kicked me in the head, I mean we moved. To a place without internet. That's right, NO. INTERNET. I'm heartbroken. The only time I can even check my e-mail is when we happen to go to McDonald's or a place with free wifi. And apparently no freakin' telephone companies have service in our area. We're only five minutes away from where we lived last, there are a lot of houses around us, but no one has service. Can you say "son of a bologna-eating, flying mother, pancake flippin', football-playin' hunk of baby back bullshit?" I can, and I have been, for the past month and a half. Luckily I came to my mom's house tonight, and now I'm posting this for my darlings. Oh, and I haven't read the manga in FOREVER (seriously, it's been over a year) so no spoilers, please. Unless everyone died. That would suck.<strong>


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